


Chasing The Silver Linings

by minzimpression



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 18:05:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5385293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minzimpression/pseuds/minzimpression
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes loves Quidditch, likes Steve and loathes Barton.</p><p>or: the Avengers as Hogwarts students</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing The Silver Linings

**Author's Note:**

> It wouldn't leave my mind. This is going to be looooong.
> 
> Don't worry, my other multi-chaptered fic has only two chapters left and will be completed this year. Focus will then lie on this one.
> 
> This is for [Lilly](http://samandruby.tumblr.com). I hope you'll love it like I do.
> 
> Also, huge thanks to [Torii](http://torii-storii.tumblr.com). You're a godsend. Also thanks for all the laughs~
> 
> The alternative title of this is: Bucky Barnes and the Deathly Blue Balls.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was this friendship of the century - Gorgeous Slytherin Natasha Romanoff being best friends with that Hufflepuff idiot Barton - that Bucky didn’t get.

Don't get him wrong. He was all for friendships between houses. Hell, his best friend and he weren’t in the same house (and wasn’t that a pity?). But it was just...Barton was such a doofus and he was kind of standing in the way between him and Natasha. 

Bucky had developed a huge crush on her since she'd helped him out in the first potions class this year when he had no idea what had been going on. It was the first time that he had recognized her, actually. Since she and Barton were usually glued together, Bucky had the tendency to ignore the both of them (and maybe also because she was, well… _Slytherin_ ).

But now that he got to know her a bit...he was _smitten_ , and his best friend Steve liked to remind him of that. 

Like now, for example.

"Just ask her out for the Hogsmeade weekend. I can't stand that pining look anymore."

"Says the guy who just chose Arithmancy because his crush is taking that subject, too," Bucky promptly answered, not taking any of Steve’s shit.

Steve's cheeks colored into a nice pink and Bucky smirked. Steve's crush on that arrogant Ravenclaw was legendary. 

(Steve had fallen in love with Stark on their first day of school. On the train. Bucky had witnessed it. He had been on his way to the bathroom wagon for the third time (he had been very nervous - it was his first school day at Hogwarts after all) when he had been stopped by a fight. A tiny, scrawny blond boy had fought against three huge Fourth Year Slytherins. 

Bucky didn’t even think about it. He just went to stand between them, and using the element of surprise, he had knocked out one of them instantly. 

Then it had been two on two and Bucky had been sure that they would have died, if it hadn't been for the small brunet boy. Bucky hadn’t even noticed him before, kneeling half under a seat.

The boy had taken Bucky's wand out of his Bucky’s jeans pocket and stunned the two Slytherins.

When he had given Bucky his wand back, Bucky had breathed his thanks and the boy had just shrugged.

"You two helped me after all..." he had said and looked at his own broken wand in his left hand.

"That was my mother's..." he'd sighed. “Dad will be furious."

And with that he had dashed off. Bucky could only stare after him until a wheezing sound had made him look down. The blond boy had been lying on the floor and clutching his stomach. He had a bloody nose just like Bucky. 

"Are you fucking insane? Trying to fight four guys thrice your size?" Bucky had asked the boy and helped him up. The one guy, whom Bucky had knocked out had started to move and groan, and Bucky had hauled the blonde boy out of the compartment and dragged him to his seat, a few wagons further.

"They were insulting him! Something about his father marrying a Hufflepuff. And him being the worst Stark legacy ever."

Bucky had gaped "That was Stark?? Like in _Tony Stark_?"

"I don't know his name. But mine is Steve." 

Steve held out his hand and Bucky shook it.

"I'm James. But call me Bucky.")

That was it. And now, five years later, they were still best friends. Many students even thought that Bucky was actually a Hufflepuff, considering how often Bucky spent his time in the Hufflepuff common room.

“I most certainly did not take the subject just because _Tony_ likes it,” Steve said indignantly, turning his attention back to his essay for DADA.

“Yeah, whatever,” Bucky snorted and tried to steal another look at Natasha. She sat on the other side of the room and was currently rolling her eyes at Barton, who was levitating Exploding Snap cards in the direction of some poor First Years. Those same First Years almost shat their pants when Natasha entered the Hufflepuff common room an hour ago.

Bucky had to admit that she played the part of the scary Slytherin girl rather well, and he suspected that she enjoyed scaring the First Years.

Suddenly, Thor was in his line of sight.

“Clinton!” he bellowed. Barton flinched, causing all the cards to fall onto his head. A few of them exploded, and the room smelled like burnt hair shorty after. Bucky snickered. Barton glared at him, but then turned his gaze to Thor, a Seventh Year.

“Yeah, Cap?” he asked, standing up and feeling his singed eyebrows.

“Team meeting in ten minutes. Steven, you too!” Thor said to Steve.

“Sure thing, Thor,” Steve waved.

“That’s my cue,” Bucky said, standing up and shouldering his bag. “I’m sure you don’t want the Gryffindor Captain listening to your strategy, Thor.”

Thor laughed and clapped Bucky on the back. “You’re but a newbie as a Quidditch Captain, James. Maybe you could learn something.”

Bucky grinned. He still had trouble believing that he’d been made Quidditch captain of Gryffindor.

“Yeah, Fury must’ve been drunk when he assigned you,” Barton drawled, and Bucky narrowed his eyes at him.

“Excuse me? Is this jealousy I hear? Because you’re never going to be Captain, and you know that.” Bucky was one hundred percent sure that Steve will be the next Quidditch Captain of Hufflepuff after Thor graduated next year. The look on Barton’s face told him that he knew that, too.

“Buck,” Steve sighed from behind him, and Bucky smiled at him.

“I’ll see you at breakfast, tomorrow,” he said.

“Not when I see you roaming the corridors tonight,” Steve jokingly warned. “You know I can take away points from you now.”

“As if. You love me too much, Stevie,” Bucky grinned and winked at Natasha before he climbed through the passageway that lead out of the Hufflepuff common room. He soon reached the stack of barrels behind the passageway that was hidden, and he stood on the kitchen floor shortly after. When he passed the entrance to the kitchen, the still-life painting swung to the side and Tony Stark stumbled out, clutching a big mug of steaming coffee between his hands.

“Hey, Barnes,” he said sleepily.

“Stark,” Bucky greeted. “How on earth do you manage to get those elves to make you coffee at this hour?”

“I am the most charming prince of Ravenclaw. I know how to sweet-talk,” Tony fluttered his eyelashes dramatically. Bucky snorted.

“Uh-huh,” he said. Tony accompanied him for a while, asking not-so-subtle questions about Steve. Bucky answered them all with the patience of a saint and told Tony to ask Steve out already when they reached the corridor where their ways parted.

The Ravenclaw sputtered, then fake-laughed.

“Good night, Barnes,” he said with a high-pitched voice and climbed up the stairs leading to the West tower.

Bucky waved, rolling his eyes, and made his way to the Gryffindor Tower. After mumbling ‘Lion Heart’ to the Fat Lady, he entered the Gryffindor common room, only to almost get knocked over by Pietro Maximoff, an immensely fast chaser from the Second Year, whom Bucky had taken into the team after he had seen what Pietro could to with a broom and a Quaffle during the try-outs.

Pietro apologized in Sokovian, and Bucky grinned. It was kind of fun how international Hogwarts had become.

(A decade ago, Great Britain’s Wizarding World had managed to decimate themselves immensely with the war against Voldemort. As a result, Hogwarts decided to become more open to other countries, especially other English-speaking countries. The other countries’ Wizarding Parents had taken the offer gladly, since Hogwarts was _the_ Wizarding School you should send your child. Thus, students from all over the world were learning at Hogwarts now.

The international transition had been completed when the American DADA professor Nicholas Fury had become new headmaster four years ago.)

Before Bucky went on to his dorm, he charmed the parchment with the Quidditch training dates on the blackboard to announce that the first Quidditch practice of the year would be held on Sunday morning.

When he entered the dormitory, Sam (another Chaser of Bucky’s team) and Rhodey (the Keeper) were sitting on Sam’s bed, playing Wizard’s Chess.

“Evening, Cap,” Sam greeted. “Did you fall asleep in the Hufflepuff common room again?”

“I wish,” Bucky sighed, getting out of his robes. “I was working on the DADA essay. Professor Coulson is such a slave driver.”

“That he is,” Rhodey nodded, grimacing when Sam’s Queen slaughtered one of his Bishops.

“Sunday is the first practice. I wrote it on the board,” Bucky said to them and looked down when something warm and purring rubbed on his leg.

“Oh, hello there, my sweetheart,” Bucky cooed and picked up Winter Soldier, his cat. Bucky had found him at home, in the woods, during his first Christmas Break. Winter Soldier had been half starved to death and was missing one leg. Bucky had taken the little fighter with him, praising him for defending himself against the cold winter.

Winter Solider was all grey and his fur was black around his blue eyes.

Bucky loved him to death.

He kissed Winter Soldier’s nose and the cat purred even louder.

After the small cuddling session, Winter Soldier wanted to be put down onto Bucky’s bed, so Bucky complied.

He went to bed early that night. The last thing he thought of was Natasha…and Clint’s face blocking Bucky’s view.

~+~

The next morning, he didn’t see Steve at breakfast because Thor had scheduled a last minute training session for the Hufflepuff team. Bucky was proud of himself that Thor was working his team very hard because their first game would be against Gryffindor – and Bucky had put together a fucking great team.

Since he knew that Steve would whine during the whole session of Care of Magical Creatures, he made a few more slices of toast and packed them in his school bag. After draining his coffee cup, he looked at his watch.

Still twenty minutes until classes would start. Maybe he could catch a glimpse at the Hufflepuff team.

Bucky shoved the last piece of toast in his mouth and made his way to the Quidditch pitch. He couldn’t see any flying players, so the training must be over. Too bad. He really liked seeing Steve fly around the three rings, managing to hold the Quaffle almost every time. (No surprise here, with that build.)

But Steve wasn’t the problem for the Gryffindor team – Bucky knew. Neither was Thor, who was a fantastic beater. It was fucking Barton. Of course, Barton played the same position as Bucky. They were both seekers. Thanks to Clint, Hufflepuff had won the Quidditch Cup last year – Bucky didn’t stand a chance when Clint suddenly had bolted upwards and caught the snitch a few hundred meters above them, _between fucking rain clouds_.

Bucky’s ego still felt bruised because of that win.

He was sure that Barton cheated somehow. When he had told Steve, his best friend just laughed and told him that they were calling Barton _Hawkeye_ for a good reason.

Fucking Barton.

Seriously.

They both couldn’t stand each other and Bucky had honestly no idea why. It started in their First Year when Bucky got stuck on one of the trick stairs and had broken his ankle after Clint had pushed him down further by accident. It just all went downhill from there.

Kind of.

Bucky didn’t even know.

They tended to ignore each other and when they had to talk, it was just in insults and bad sarcasm.

Steve liked to remind him that Barton and he weren’t that different and probably would make great friends, if they would come over their issues with each other.

Bucky tended to ignore that, too.

He waited in front of the Quidditch changing area and a few minutes later a tired, battered and bruised Hufflepuff team stumbled out. Thor clapped him on the shoulder, promising him that Hufflepuff would slaughter Gryffindor in three weeks, laughed, and went in the direction of the castle. The three Chasers and other Beater followed him. Steve and Barton joined Bucky on his walk to the Care of Magical Creatures class and Steve almost cried when Bucky presented him the toast.

“I love you,” Steve said. Bucky was pretty sure that he was talking to the toast.

“I didn’t have time for breakfast this morning. I overslept because of the essay. I had a few ideas when I was in bed and just rewrote the whole thing,” Steve told him between huge bites.

Bucky and Barton snorted and before Bucky could crack a joke, Barton stole a slice of toast from Steve, stuffed it in his mouth and said with his mouth full,

“You could write Coulson an ode to good ol’ Voldemort and he would give you an ‘O’. Seriously what is the thing between you two? Is that even appropriate? Does Tony allow that?”

Bucky laughed against his will, and Steve had a coughing fit when he inhaled a few crumbs of toast.

“Tony is _not_ my boyfriend,” Steve sputtered, and Barton grinned obnoxiously.

“Yeah, right. Sorry. It’s Barnes, I know…” he said.

Steve sputtered even more. Bucky didn’t dignify the assumption with an answer. If he got a Sickle for every time someone assumed that they were boyfriends...

Well, whatever. Barton would look very stupid once Bucky managed to get Natasha as his girlfriend.

They reached the place right in front of the beginnings of the Forbidden Forest in time. Professor Grubbly-Plank was already there as were the rest of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. The students were already gathered around a big nest with different eggs. It was comfortably warm around the nest; there must have been some warming charm for the eggs.

The sound of the school bell drifted over to them, and Professor Grubbly-Plank started the lesson without much fuss (she did send Steve a disapproving glare, though. He was still chewing on the last of his toast).

“Okay, well. Let’s get started then. I was thinking about a nice little partner project for the first trimester. A good friend of mine is the owner of the Magical Menagerie and allowed me to take some eggs, because he’s indisposed at the moment and breeding the birds has become a bit complicated. I think, it would be the best if you would split up in pairs-”

Bucky and Steve grinned at each other.

“-I’d like you to split up in different pairs, though. Not the usual. Let’s just build pairs in alphabetical order.”

Aww, hell.

Professor Grubbly-Plank pulled out a piece of parchment out of her robe and started reading the names. Bucky’s name was the third on the list.

“Barnes,” she said. “And Barton.”

Bucky groaned inwardly and Barton, who was still standing next to Steve and him, waggled his eyebrows.

“Caw Caw, motherfucker,” he said to Bucky and cackled.

Bucky honestly didn’t get the Hufflepuff. He always thought the crazy ones were in Slytherin.

He ignored Barton for the time being and hid a grin when Sam Wilson got paired with the other crazy Hufflepuff Wade Wilson. Steve got paired with Rhodey.

“Now, look at that. Almost every pair is not from the same house. Sounds like fun, right?” she said and Barton went to the big nest eagerly. His eyes shone, and he cooed at every single egg.

“Now before you get started,” Professor Grubbly-Plank smiled at Barton. Everyone knew that Barton (and maybe Sam) would get the ‘O’ O.W.L. in Care of Magical Creatures. It was obviously Barton’s favorite subject and he was a walking Magical Creatures encyclopedia. Rumor had it that Barton applied for a summer job in Romania to work the famous Charlie Weasley.

“Before you get started, please go and search for the best twigs to make your own nest. And after you’re satisfied with the nest, we’re going to practice the spell for keeping the nest nice and warm, yes? And _then_ you’re going to choose one egg and will identify it with the help of your textbook.”

After she had finished, everyone looked for their partner and Bucky nodded to Barton and they made their way to the safe beginnings of the forest. If it were up to Bucky, they would have taken a few twigs, leaves and grass and be done with it. Unfortunately Barton was his partner.

Barton inspected every twig with eyes like a hawk, tested it with his fingers and more often than not he just said ‘no’ to a twig that Bucky chose.

“Oh my god, Barton,” Bucky snapped after 15 minutes. Everyone was already back with the Professor and making the nests. “Would you please get a move? It’s just a fucking nest. Where a fucking _egg_ will sit.”

“Shut your face, Barnes. This is important. And I’m done, anyway,” was all Barton said to him and stalked away to the rest of the class.

Ugh…Bucky’s Quidditch training would consist of only one move: beating Barton off his fucking broom.

Yeah, that sounded nice.

Sighing loudly, he followed Barton who sat down onto the grass next to Steve and Rhodey. Barton had already started forming the nest, but frowned. He wasn’t the only one. Many students were having difficulties forming the twigs just right.

Bucky watched Barton for a while because every time he wanted to try it himself, Barton hissed and said that Bucky “had no idea what he was doing.”

Bucky peered over at his best friend. Steve had his wand out and was seemingly thinking very hard. Bucky chuckled, but took out his wand, too. Good idea. They were wizards after all.

Barton made a frustrated sound, and Bucky took his chance. He laid his hands on Barton’s and pried his fingers away from the twigs. Barton let him, and Bucky arranged the twigs between them. Charms was his favorite subject. He could do this. He had always watched his mother at home, when he’d been younger. When she still had been able to do magic. He tried to remember what exactly she did when she made Christmas decorations.

“Woah, that’s awesome,” Barton said, impressed, when Bucky flicked his wand in a certain manner and the twigs arranged themselves neatly, intertwining with the leaves and the grass.

“Very good, Mr. Barnes,” Professor Grubbly-Plank said, after she inspected the nest. “That’s a neat spell you thought of. Fifteen points for Gryffindor.”

Thanks to Bucky they were the first ones who could practice the warming charm for the egg. Both of them didn’t talk much; Barton only made a few frustrated sounds every now and then. Bucky only heard that Barton loathed Charms. Steve had told him. And now Bucky could see that for himself.

“It’s okay. I can perform the charm, if you want,” Bucky tried to say without too much mirth. Barton being a failure in Charms was awesome. He wished he could have Charms together with the Hufflepuffs if only to laugh at Barton.

Barton glared at him, but before he could say something, Professor Grubbly-Plank interrupted them.

“You have 30 minutes left. I will go around, check your nests and then you can finally choose your egg and read all about it.”

She made her rounds, and Bucky snickered when Steve managed to set his nest on fire. Professor Grubbly-Plank sighed at that and nodded when Rhodey could cast the spell correctly. Satisfied with their nest now, she came over to them and Barton blanched a bit when she smiled at him expectantly.

“Come on, Mr. Barton. Let me see your nest.”

Bucky leaned back, smirked at Barton. Barton gulped, but then flicked his wand with a determined face.

…and Bucky’s beautifully created nest turned into stone. Neither Bucky nor Clint could reverse it.

“What have you done?” Bucky complained when Professor Grubbly-Plank left them (“You’re going to have to do another one. And you’re going to have the last egg. Your homework will be reading about the bird.”)

“How can one guy be so fucking incompetent at magic?” Bucky grumbled when they made their way back to the trees to collect new twigs. Clint flinched as if Bucky had hurt him physically, but said nothing. He averted his eyes, looked for the twigs (but he didn’t seem to care for ‘perfect’ ones this time) and practically threw them in Bucky’s arms.

“Just make the nest again,” he said in a small voice, and they went back over to the class (again).

The other students already had taken their egg and were leafing through their textbooks, trying to find out what bird they chose.

Bucky eyed the last egg in the big nest and made a face. The last of the eggs was small and a sickly grey-ish color and didn’t look very well at all. Great. He didn’t want to know what kind of sick bird was hiding under that thin shell. But Barton was already staring at the egg lovingly and then opened his book to look up what bird they ended up with.

Bucky let him be and made a new nest again. After he had cast the heating charm with no problems at all, Clint was still looking for the right description.

“I don’t understand. I’m sure, I have seen it before, but I just can’t find…” Barton mumbled, but put the book away for a moment, so he could pick the egg up and put it in the new nest with much care.

“Honestly, you’re behaving like it’s your child,” Bucky snorted. Barton ignored him and the school bell rang, indicating the end of the class.

“Great. Thanks to you, we’re not finished and don’t even know what fucking bird we have,” Bucky said and shouldered his bag. “Don’t expect me to take the nest with me. I’m not going all the way up to the tower and then running all the way back down to History of Magic.” He huffed, but Barton didn’t seem to hear him (or ignored him). The Hufflepuff just picked up the nest and followed the rest of the Hufflepuffs into the castle. Bucky knew Steve’s time table by heart and knew that he and Barton had a free period now.

He really hoped that Barton wouldn’t ruin their assignment by trying to break the egg shell or some shit. It would be nice to get at least an ‘E’ for this. Bucky waved at his Steve and followed Sam, Rhodey, and the other Gryffindors to the History of Magic classroom.

They were early, but the seat next to Natasha was already taken. Damnit. Fucking Emma Frost, the Queen of Slytherin was sitting next to the redhead. But there was still a seat _near_ her. Bucky practically jumped in the available seat and ignored Loki (sitting in the second seat at the desk), who sneered at him.

“Shut up, Laufeyson,” Bucky mumbled and tried to cool and casually bad-boy when Natasha’s gaze met his. The left corner of her mouth lifted and she was still smiling that little smile when she turned around.

She was stunning. 

Bucky stared at her red curls most of the class and only wrote something on his parchment when she looked at him with a raised eyebrow (He loved the eyebrow thing).

Trapped in his own little fantasy world, he was surprised when the most boring subject in the history of magic (ha!) was over rather fast. He tried to catch her gaze again when the students accumulated in front of the door, everyone wanting to get out of there. But she was talking to Loki now. And that Slytherin asshole even grinned at Bucky over her shoulder, clearly smug. Dick.

Someday…

Someday he would punch Loki in his stupid face. But he had to wait until Thor was out of school. Hufflepuff’s biggest teddy bear was ridiculously protective over his little (albeit adopted) brother.

He skipped lunch in favor of copying down Matt’s history notes (He didn’t want to see disappointment in his mother’s eyes. He had to get an O.W.L. in every fucking subject) and regretted it when he went to the Charms classroom after lunch, feeling _hungry_ as hell.

He joined Tony and Bruce at their usual desk and was eager to learn something new from Professor Xavier. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anything new. Nothing was ever new in Charms Class. At least for him. Bucky had read the _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five_ during the summer. They were revising the Summoning and Banishing Charms today, because there was a high possibility that these spells would be a part of their O.W.L.’s.

Both Tony and Bucky summoned and banished their cushions effortlessly ten times. Bruce had a bit of trouble with getting the cushions into the right direction. Professor X was going through the rows of tables and told Tony and Bucky to write down the theory of those spells, so they would have _something_ to do.

Bucky complained that it wasn’t fair, but Professor X reminded him that he also had to do a _theoretical_ part during his O.W.L.’s and simply went to the next table, getting hit in the face by a cushion sent by Sam.

 _Justice_ , Bucky thought and opened his textbook. Next to him, Tony was already writing down things without looking in the book, his pen flying over the parchment. (“Quills are so outdated, Barnes. Your dad is a muggle, isn’t he? Why don’t _you_ use pens? You know them, right? They are so much more convenient and faster. I mourn that I am from a pure-blood family. Muggles are brilliant.”)

(Bucky just hadn’t known that they were allowed to use normal muggle pens. Tony just did it and nobody complained.)

Reminding himself that he really should have his dad send him a few pens, too, he finished his text forty-some minutes later and when he looked up, the other students were writing down notes, too. Tony was long finished and Professor X was grading essays at his desk.

Tony was fiddling with something under his desk, he was typing on a-

“Is that a _smartphone?_ ” Bucky asked, astonished. Bucky had one, too. He supposed every wizard or witch with muggle blood had them, but nobody bothered to take them to Hogwarts, since they wouldn’t work.

Tony looked at him, ‘duh’ written all over his face, and returned to typing on his phone frantically.

“How on earth did you manage to have it work in here? Wait, do you have _Wi-Fi_?”

“It’s just a prototype,” Tony dismissed. “It’s a crap phone by the way. But I have to work with what I get. Pepper gave it to me before school, she hates having owls firing out of her parent’s fireplace after midnight.”

Leave it to the Stark legacy to have a muggle BFF. (Bucky sometimes wondered if Tony wanted to irritate his father with everything he did.)

“I’ve been working on it since the beginning of the term. And yesterday I made a breakthrough. And as you can see, I’m texting with her right now. Sadly, we’re only limited to texting at the moment. But I’m working on it.”

“Well, fuck me sideways, you really are a genius,” Bucky said, impressed.

“I’ve tried to tell you that since our first year, Barnes. There’s a reason I was put in Ravenclaw.”

(And that had resulted in a particularly nasty Howler from his father. The whole Great Hall had looked at little Tony with pity afterwards and Bucky had wanted to befriend him instantly. Steve had trailed along very enthusiastically.)

“I gather you are finished?” Professor Xavier suddenly interrupted them and Tony let the phone vanish in his robes.

“Sure thing, Prof,” he said to the Head of Ravenclaw and Professor Xavier collected his and Bucky’s essay.

“Alright. Get lost, you lot. I’ll see you on Tuesday. Class is over in 10 minutes anyway.”

Bucky and Tony grinned at each other, because they could go early.

-x-

Tony yawned when they stood in the empty hallway.

“I think I’m gonna call it a day. I worked during the whole fucking night on that phone,” he said.

Bucky snorted.

“It’s not even four yet. And don’t you have DADA next?”

“I’m not in the mood for Coulson,” Tony sniffed.

“You just can’t stand him because Steve adores him.”

“Lies. All lies,” Tony gave him a two-fingered salute and turned around to leave in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower. Bucky could only shake his head about the ignorance of Tony and Steve, and made his way outside again. His last class for today was Herbology and then it was finally, _finally_ the weekend.

Professor Longbottom was already in front of Greenhouse Three, digging through the dirt. Apparently, he was planting something. Like everyday. He was a very enthusiastic Herbologist.

“Mr. Barnes! You’re early!” Professor Longbottom said, and Bucky grinned. He liked the man. He was pretty cool, what with being a war hero and living in the Leaky Cauldron and all. And as Head of Gryffindor he sure as hell had a say in making Bucky Captain, so Bucky liked him even more.

“Yeah, Professor X let me and Tony go early because we were already done with the assignments,” Bucky explained and sat down on a bench in front of the greenhouse, soaking in the last warm sun rays of October with relish.

“A very good friend of mine loved Charms, too, at School,” his teacher said. “I could write her. Maybe she has some modern advanced Charms books she could lend you.”

Bucky opened his eyes and smiled at Professor Longbottom.

“Really? That would be awesome! I’ve already read everything from my mother’s library and…well, the books are expensive and we don’t have that much money to spare, with her illness and all…” Bucky didn’t like talking about it. The professor just changed the topic, asking him if he would like to help with the seeds.

Bucky wanted to help. He put aside his robes, rolled up the white sleeves of his uniform, and crouched down in the dirt.

When four o’clock rolled around, the rest of the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs came by. Bucky rolled his eyes when Barton was trailing along after Steve. Barton was like a lost puppy when Natasha wasn’t around. Because of reasons Bucky would never understand, Barton and Steve became pretty good friends last year when they both were the newbies in the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

(Bucky’s been a part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team since his second year, and damn proud of that.)

Steve grinned down at him when they reached the bed.

“You’ve got dirt on your nose. Exactly there,” his best friend told him, gesturing at the tip of his own nose. Bucky huffed and rubbed at his nose, probably smearing more dirt over it instead. He stood up and glared at Barton, who couldn’t stop grinning at him. Man, what was his problem?

After putting his robe back on again, he, Steve and Barton were the last ones to enter Greenhouse Three, and they gathered around the big table where Professor Longbottom laid out a few potted plants.

“Fanged Geranium,” Professor Longbottom informed, gesturing to the (at first) harmless looking plants. He then took a piece of chopped dragon liver in his hands and held it above the blossom of the plant. The blossom shook for a moment, and then opened, showing them, big, very sharp looking fangs. The plant ripped the liver out of Professor Longbottom’s hands and munched it with a loud growl.

“Lovely,” Barton muttered under his breath.

“Nasty little flowers, but the fangs are an often used for potions and they are even used in some traditional food recipes. I want you to draw a sketch of it, and please name all parts with the help of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. When you’re finished with these, we’re going to work on how to feed them without getting bitten.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. He loved to draw, even if it was only little, ugly plants.

They worked quietly. Bucky raised his eyebrow when Barton began to speak after a while.

“So, I still haven’t figured out what bird we might have. It’s strange. It’s like the egg doesn’t belong to the others.”

“Not that of an expert in Care of Magical Creatures then, huh?” Bucky asked, slashing the parchment with his quill when Steve nudged him in the side with his elbow. Steve glared at him with his ‘Be nice’ face and Bucky rolled his eyes. Stupid do-good-friend.

“I mean. Uh, it’s my project, too. I can try to find out. It can’t be that hard. Everyone else has identified their birds, right?” Bucky asked Steve and Steve nodded.

“Sure, we have a snow owl,” he supplied and Bucky nodded to Barton.

“See. I bet it’s just some kind of owl.”

“Yeah, but-“ Barton started, but the professor interrupted them, reminding them not to talk.

One hour into the class, Bucky was wondering how Barton couldn’t identify their bird. Barton knew every fucking thing about magical creatures.

If Bucky actually managed to identify their bird, he could rub it in Barton’s face for ages.

Ah, yes.

Sweet.

“Ow-“

Fucking fangs. This stupid flower liked the taste of his finger better than dragon liver. Bucky didn’t like the flower in the slightest. He sucked the blood from his finger and banished all thoughts from sweet revenge on Barton so he could concentrate on the current task.

Barton and Steve were talking about the latest Quidditch games from the North American League and Bucky couldn’t help but snort absently when Barton was talking about the loss of his, apparently, favorite team, the Davenport Dragons.

“You’ve got a problem with that, Barnes?” Barton asked over the violent, angry shiver of the flower.

Bucky looked up and sneered at him.

“The Davenport Dragons? Really, Barton? You call yourself a Quidditch Player? How on earth can you support that shit team? They have a worse track record than the Chudley Cannons and _that_ is a feat in and of itself. Are you really that dumb to support that team?”

Barton made an aborted move as if he wanted to lunge over the table at him, but seemed to think better of it. And even if he wanted to, Steve hat put his hand on his chest, just in case.

“I think, that’s enough Buck,” he said and Bucky shrugged.

“Just saying. I didn’t even know that there were still fans of that shit club left. But not everyone can have an awesome team from their home town, right Stevie?”

The Brooklyn Bludger Beasts were legendary. And of course Bucky’s favorite team.

“God, Barnes. You’re so full of shit,” Barton said and Bucky winked at him, smiling so wide and false that his cheeks hurt.

The school bell was audible from far, far away.

Weekend.

Fucking finally.

His hunger came back with full force (he really shouldn’t skip lunch ever again) and he didn’t even wait up for Steve. He just packed his bag, shoved his sketch in Professor Longbottom’s hands, and practically raced to the Great Hall.

Not many people were at dinner that early, and the teacher’s table was still empty.

When Sam sat down next to him, Bucky was already munching through his second serving. And he was still eating when most of the students had already left the Great Hall to enjoy the beginnings of the weekend. He was a growing boy, okay?!

He was moaning around the last bites of apple pie when Barton ruined it by sitting down next to him.

“So you wanna do this in my dorm or yours, asshole?”

Bucky choked on the pie and looked to his left, bewildered.

“What?”

“The bird, Barnes. The bird. We still have to find out with what we’re dealing with. I have some suspicions but that wouldn’t be possible. And why should I do all the work, anyway?”

“Ugh, can’t this wait until – I don’t know – Sunday?” He wanted to curl in front of the fireplace in the common room and snooze until it was be time for bed (He couldn’t go to bed at six, he was fifteen for fuck’s sake).

“No way, I have Quidditch training the whole day, tomorrow,” Barton didn’t look like he was looking forward to a whole training day after being beaten around in the morning.

Serves him right, Bucky thought.

“Fine, I’ll meet you in the Hufflepuff common room after I’ve finished,” Bucky complied.

“Nah, I’ll wait here for you,” Barton simply said. Bucky watched in horror when Barton pulled a large plate with chocolate-raspberry cake in front of him, snatched an unused golden fork and started to dig in, too.

“Weren’t you already finished?” Bucky asked, suddenly not that hungry anymore.

“All the desserts were gone too soon,” Barton explained with his mouth full of cake and polished the plate off in record time.

In the end it was Bucky who waited for Barton to finish with dinner.

They shouldered their bags and made their way downstairs to the kitchen floor. Barton pulled out his wand when they reached the stacked barrels, tapped the right barrel a few times with the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’ (Bucky still wasn’t over the fact how ridiculously easy it was to get into the Hufflepuff Common Room).

Many Hufflepuffs greeted Bucky when they entered the common room. A few told him that Steve wasn’t here, waggling their eyebrows suggestively.

Bucky ignored them and followed Barton through the door to the dormitories.

Bucky had been in Steve’s dormitory a few times. But he never paid attention to the other beds in there. Now, he was passing Steve’s bed which was the first one next to the door, and followed Barton to the far end of the room. The bed was a mess (Barton must have been in it during the day. The house elves were making the beds usually during breakfast time), and Barton’s trunk was lying against the wall, open and numerous things were spilling out. The bedside table didn’t look any better. Some muggle books about archery were stacked between a rather big model of a dragon (it looked like a Romanian Longhorn) and a framed still photograph of a beautiful blonde woman with freckles holding a toddler.

On Barton’s cushion was the nest. Barton had made a nest out of his blankets and put the real nest in there.

Bucky wisely didn’t comment on that and smoothed out the crumpled yellow comforter to sit down on it. Barton gave him a list with the pages he already read and then explained in full detail why he had crossed out this bird, and that bird et cetera et cetera. Bucky’s never been more bored in his whole life.

He let Barton babble on and skimmed through the textbook itself.

“I don’t know what your problem is,” Bucky said after ten minutes of comparing the pictures with their egg. “Looks like a normal barn owl to me.”

“I don’t know,” Barton said unsure. “Just feel the texture.”

And he proceeded to take Bucky’s hand in his and guided Bucky’s index finger over the egg. It felt a bit rough, not smooth like the owl eggs should be.

“I don’t think it’s an owl at all,” Barton continued and graciously didn’t comment on Bucky’s suddenly very sweaty finger between his own fingers.

(The egg was very warm, okay?)

Bucky pried his finger away from Barton and shrugged.

“But everything else fits. What do you think it is? You know the birds being sold there. It only can be some sort of owl.”

“Yeah, but-“ Barton said, sounding unsure. “I think it looks rather like a…” he didn’t finish the sentence.

“Like a what?” Bucky prodded.

Barton looked at him, then at the egg and then he dived under his bed and came back with big book that had a beautiful hawk on its cover. It was an encyclopedia about every known bird, magical and non-magical.

Barton was a very, very strange boy.

He opened the monster of a book and showed him a double page with a –

“Yeah, no. You’re an idiot if you think that this,” Bucky gestured to the tiny egg. “Is that.” Bucky traced the outlines of the moving phoenix. What a beautiful creature.

“Why on earth should there be a phoenix egg? They are fucking rare and some asshole from a magical pet shop just happens to have one? And leaves it with some professor, so that _kids_ could take care of it? You’re insane.”

Barton looked crushed and a bit angry.

“But it has to be! My…my wand, it has a phoenix feather as a core and the egg fucking _sighed_ when I tapped at it!”

“Are you fucking with me?” Bucky snapped. “This is such bullshit and you know it. You lured me here for this fucking prank? It is a fucking _owl_.”

“No, it’s not,” Barton replied stubbornly and Bucky threw his arms in the air, rolling his eyes.

“Fine. We’ll ask Grubbly-Plank on Tuesday. I hope she will take 50 points from you just for thinking this bullshit,” Bucky muttered and got up from the bed.

“I can prove it to you,” Barton tried to stop him and against his better judgement, Bucky waited and watched with a raised eyebrow when Barton poked the egg with the tip of his wand gently. Bucky strained his ears, Barton held his breath and –

Nothing happened.

Nothing at all.

Bucky grimaced.

“You’re a lunatic. I hope you know that. I mean, look at you. All nerdy and thinking you know better than the Care of Magical Creatures professor. No wonder you don’t have many friends.”

Okay, the last one was a bit exaggerated. Barton’s face shut down immediately.

“Fuck off,” Barton hissed, and red sparks flew out of his wand.

“With pleasure,” Bucky sneered, grabbed his bag and sauntered out of the room. Fucking Barton and stealing precious minutes of his life. He could be using those minutes planning to get Natasha as his girl.

Bucky took a deep breath when he made it to the kitchen floor and moved onto the library.

He needed to talk to Steve. The urge to bitch about Barton was almost unbearable.

Steve was in the library with Tony every Friday.

‘Arithmancy tutoring from Tony’ Steve called it.

Bucky usually referred to it as ‘shameless eye fucking in the library’.

But Bucky stopped short after he entered the library and found the table where Steve and Tony were sitting. Steve was brooding over a table with complicated looking formulas. He looked a bit desperate.

And Tony…he had such a besotted look on his face.

Bucky’s heart clenched a bit and he suddenly felt _lonely_.

He turned around, left the library and wondered if Rhodey still had a bit of his secret firewhiskey left.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, i know...details. But I'm such a Harry Potter nerd. Sorrynotsorry.
> 
> my [tumblr](http://minzimpression.tumblr.com)


End file.
